Stranger with ax mistaken for delivery driver chases woman into home, CA cops say

An ax-wielding stranger initially mistaken for a delivery driver chased a woman into her home, then led deputies on a 13-mile chase, a California sheriff’s office reported.

A Nevada City woman left her home to meet the woman, thinking she was a delivery driver, on the afternoon of Saturday, July 12, the Nevada County Sheriff’s Office said in a news release.

But the stranger pulled a large ax from the trunk of her vehicle, deputies said.

“The homeowner ran for her life and was able to get back inside her residence and lock the door,” deputies said.

The intruder hit the door with the ax, then drove away, deputies said. The resident called 911.

Deputies searching for the intruder spotted her on Highway 20 and pursued her 13 miles after she did not pull over, the sheriff’s office said.

When officers from several law enforcement agencies boxed her vehicle in at a gas station, the woman backed into a California Highway Patrol vehicle and tried to run over a deputy, the sheriff’s office said.

Deputies eventually stopped her vehicle on a dirt road, then she attacked a CHP officer, the sheriff’s office said.

Elisa Pueraro, 40, of Grass Valley faces charges including assault with a deadly weapon, evading police without regard for safety, obstructing a police officer, being under the influence of a controlled substance and vandalism, deputies said.

The sheriff’s office did not say what prompted the attack, which deputies called a “horrifying encounter.”

Nevada City is about a 60-mile drive north from Sacramento.

This story was originally published July 14, 2025 at 4:38 PM with the headline "Stranger with ax mistaken for delivery driver chases woman into home, CA cops say."